Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Royal Bank of Scotland announes 1.9B pound provisionRoyal Bank of Scotland said its full year results on February 27 will reflect provisions for litigation and conduct related matters. RBS said its board has decided to provide 1.9B pounds covering various claims and conduct related matters affecting Group companies, primarily those related to mortgage-backed securities and securities related litigation, following recent third party litigation settlements and regulatory decisions. RBS said it will take an additional 465M pound provision for Payment Protection Insurance redress and related costs. It added that Q4 claims experience has continued at previous rates rather than declining as anticipated and claims are now expected to continue for a longer period. The cumulative provision is 3.1B pounds, of which 2.2B pounds had been utilized at December 31, 2013. The remaining provision of 900M pounds covers approximately twelve months of redress and administrative expenses. The bank noted a further 500M pounds provision for Interest Rate Hedging Products redress and administration costs. The increase in provision reflects both higher volumes and anticipated redress payments, recalibration of its methodology based on experience during Q4, and additional administration charges. RBS said. The cumulative provision, including expenses, was 1.25B pounds at December 31, 2013.

U.K. watchdog visited Barclays 186 times in 2014, Bloomberg reportsThe FCA's supervisory team made 186 visits to Barclays (BCS) in 2014, more than any other British bank that year, Bloomberg reports. HSBC (HSBC) was next highest with 85 visits, with RBS (RBS) and Lloyds (LYG) following with 65 and 58 encounters, respectively, the report says. Reference Link